Fence



(No Model.)

. I J. H. POWER.

FENGE.

Patented Jan. 21, 1890.

(PM U Inventor-- b WWI (xq/ Witnesses:

Attorney UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH I-l. POWVER, OF HAOKLEMAN, INDIANA.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,706, dated January21, 1890'. Application filed July 10, 1839. Serial No. 317,105- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH I-I. POWER, of l'lackleman, Grant county,Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences, ofwhich the following is a specification.

'This invention relates to improvements in that class of fencesconsisting, essentially, of rails, stakes, &c., united by wire.

Many species of fences of this general class have been devised; but myimproved construction presents marked peculiarities and renders possibleresults not heretofore attained in this class of fences.

My improvements will be readily understood from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fence partially completed andpartially in process of construction and embodying my improvements; Fig.2, a perspective view of one of the stake-crotches, viewed from theright, and illustrating the manner of starting with the wire ties; Fig.3, an end elevation of the same, serving to illustrate the procedurewith the wire ties as carried to a certain stage in the process; Fig. t,a front elevation of the same, illustrating the process of wireapplication carried to a further stage; Fig. 5, an end elevation of thesame, viewed similarly to Fig. 3, illustrating a still further stage ofthe wire application; Fig. 6, a rear elevation of the same, illustratingthe final disposition of the terminal end of the tie- Wire; and Fig. 7,a perspective view, viewed from the left, of one of the stake-crotchesand with the crotch-rails, showing the complete course of the wire.

In the drawings, A indicates the first stake" of each pair ofcrotch-stakes; B, the second stake of each pair of crotch-stakes, thesecrotch-stakes being arranged, as usual, to form crotches at each paneljunction, the lower ends of these stakes resting on the ground; 0, toprails supported in the upper crotches; D, lower crotch-rails supportedbelow the crotches by the wires; E, the bottom rails of the fence,suspended from the crotches by the tie-wires; F, temporary jacksemployed in building the fence, these jacks confsisting of pivoted restsor crotches which may :be temporarily and conveniently erected in theline of the fence to support the lower crotch-rails D, three or more ofthese jacks being employed in the construction; G, the intermediaterails of the fence, disposed between the bottom rails E and the lowercrotch-rails D, there being as many of these rails as the intendedpurpose of the fence may call for-that is to say, the fence may beprovided with two rails or any greater number of rails below thecrotches, as desired; H, braces secured by wires against the sides ofthe lower portion of the fence and serving to brace it longitudinally,these braces being applied more or less frequently, as hereinafterexplained; J, anchor-stakes driven in the ground at the center ofdesired panels and wired to the bottom rails of the appropriate panels,these anchor-stakes being applied more or less frequently, ashereinafter explained; K, wires applied in a very peculiar manner to thecrotches and crotch-rails, as will be fully explained hereinafter; L,slings for the lower rails of the fence, these slings forming portionsof the wires K; M, (see Fig. 7,) tie-links uniting the two sides of theslingwire, these links being preferably interposed between each two ofthe lower rails of the fence; N, stubs or blocks interposed between thelower rails of the fence at the end of the fence or at the end of aportable section, these stubs being substitutes for rail ends whichwould be present in case theline of fence continued onwardly; 0, Fig. 1,a complete panel of the fence double braced and forming a terminal panelof the fence; P, a panel provided with an anchor-stake and completed,

except as regards its juncture with its unfinished'panels to the-left;Q, a panel in process of construction, having reached that stage atwhich the top rail and the lower crotchrail and the bottom rail areapplied; R,a panel in process of construction, the, lower crotchrailbeing supported on the construction-jacks and the crotch-stakes at theleft having been placed; S, a panel in the initial stage ofconstruction, the lower crotch-rail being in position on theconstruction-jacks; T, the free end of the wire while the wire is inprocess of being applied; U, (see especially Fig. 3,)

the aperture in each lower crotch just above the lower crotch-rails.

In constructing my improved fence the procedure is as follows: Threeconstruction-jacks are first provided, the construction of which will beobvious from Fig. 1 of the drawings. They should be of such dimensionsas to properly support the lower crotchrails D at the proper height inthe line of fence. They may be made of comparatively light material, andshould be pivoted at their crossings for facility in adjustment, inhandling, &c. The three jacks should be properly placed in the line ofthe fence to support two of the lower crotch-rails D. Having set thejacks and having placed two of the lower crotch-rails D, now set theappropriate pairs of crotch-stakes A B, as shown at panel R in Fig. 1.Now lay top rails O in the top crotches, as indicated at the panel Q inFig. 1. This gives us a temporary fence structure, dependent, however,on the jacks for its support.

The wire must now be applied to the crotches and crotch-rails, and theprocedure is as follows: Make one end of the wire fast to the firstcrotch-stake A of the pair close up under the top rails, as clearlyshown at a in Fig. 2. Draw the wire forward close under the top railsand close against the right of the second crotch-stake and around thefront of the second crotch-stake, as shown at b in Fig. 2. Pass the wirerearwardly underneath the top rails to the left of the crotchstakes, andthen pass the wire upwardly and over the top rails, as shown at c.

it directly downward and to the right of the second crotch-stake, asshown at d in Figs.

3, 4, 5, and 7. Pass the wire rearvvardly under the lower crotch-rails Dand to the left of the crotch-stakes, as shown at 6. At this pointattention is called to the fact that the top crotch and the top railslying in that crotch have been firmly bound by the wire, which leavesthe top crotch as a single strand of wire. The binding at the top crotchis thus completed and no return of the wire to the top crotch isrequired. The wire is to be applied as tightly as practicable. Havingcompleted the wire at the top crotch and having brought the wire down at(Z and rearwardly at e, now pass the wire around the rear ofcrotch-stake B and bring it forward under the lower crotch-rails to theright of the crotch-stakes, as shown at f. Now pass the wire to the leftin front of the crotchstake A and upwardly, and thread it through theaperture U and pass it to the rear of the fence, as shown at g, and thenpass the wire downwardly, as at h, to form one side of the sling for thelower rails. At this point attention is called to the fact that thelower crotch and the lower crotch-rails are firmly bound. If the end ofthe wire should now be made fast, a self-sustaining and peculiarlyself-tightening and rigid fence structure will have been produced, whichmay be moved Bring the wire forwardly over the top rails and carryaround at will and which can withstand rough transportation; but thewires are to be still further utilized in forming the slings for thelower rails. Continue the wire at it down as far as required for thedesired length of slings L. Now pass the wire upwardly, forming thefront j of the sling, and thread it rearwardly through aperture U, andmake the end fast to the crotch-wire, as shown at Z in Fig. 6. Thiscompletes the wire, and a downward strain upon the sides h j of thesling w1ll tighten the lower crotch-wire. Now place the bottom rails Ein the slings and remove the jacks from the appropriate panel and strikedownward on the bottom rails to thoroughly draw the slack of the wlres.Now place intermediate rails G, using as many as have been provided forin determining the length of the slings. At the end of the fence or atthe end of sections, in case the fence is made up into portablesections, insert the stubs N, it being understood, of course, that thelower rails of the fence or the lower rails and stubs N must fill theslings. Now apply the tie-links M to the sling in each joint between thelower rails below the lower crotch-rails. These links may be formed inthe factory and applied without bending. Now apply the brace H againstthe faces of the lower ra ls, the upper ends of the brace abuttingagainst the sides of the appropriate crotch-stake Bind the upper andlower ends of these braces to the upper crotch-rail and bottom rail,respectively, with suitable wire ties firmly applied. These braces may,if desired, be applied one on each face of each panel, as indicated atpanel 0 in Fig. 1; but Iwould advise that the bracing be distributedalong the fence, a brace in one direction and 1n front of the fence atone panel and a brace in the other direction on the rear of the fence ata farther panel. The structure thus produced is a portable fence, and itmay be constructed where convenient, and a team may then be hitched toit and it may be hauled to where needed. If the work be well done, thefence may safely be hauled a couple of miles. WVhen the fence is in apermanent position, the anchor-stakes J may be applied as desired, itbeing advised that these anchorstakes be interposed with reference tothe braces. These anchor-stakes are not at all essential, but are verydesirable where the lower rails are subjected to high winds or to lowstock. The crotch-stakes and rails may be formed of usual rail-timber orof poletimber. For the best results it is of course desirable that theends of the rails which seat in the crotches be hewn to secure areasonable fair bearing.

I claim as my invention- In a rail-and-wire fence, the combination,substantially as set forth, of crotch-stakes A and B, top rails 0, wiresK, secured at one end at the top crotch of the stakes and applied to thetop crotches and top rails, as

specified, and passing thence downwardly M, applied to the slingsbetween the lower and applied to the lower crotch-rails and lowercrotches, as specified, and passing thence downwardly to form slings L,and made fast at their terminal ends to their lower crotch portions, thebottom rails E, and intermediate rails G, supported in the slings, thetie-links rails, and braces applied to the faces of the lower rails.

JOSEPH I-I. POWER. Witnesses:

LEVI SooTT, J OHN H. WINSLOW.

